Alabama Gold Star wife discusses late husband on Memorial Day
The loved ones fallen service members leave behind are known as Gold Star families.
Ashley Stegall from Trussville lost her husband, U.S. Army Sgt. Jason Stegall, in December 2009. Stegall said they were high school sweethearts who married in their 20s. She said Memorial Day has a much different meaning to her and her family now than it did 15 years ago.
'He was always helping people if he could,' Ashley Stegall said. 'He loved the military. He was going to be career military. He was a paratrooper. He loved to jump out of airplanes for fun for some reason, but he did. He loved it, and he loved his soldiers, and he loved what he did.'
Ashley Stegall said her husband served a 15-month tour in Iraq, where he was shot twice. He returned home and received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star Medal with a 'V' device for valor.
'He would've gone back five more times,' Ashley Stegall said. 'He just loved what he did.'
Alabama family remembers Marine killed in 2010
Ashley Stegall said through her husband, she learned how dedicated soldiers are to serving their country and how rewarding it is to support a soldier as a wife and family member.
'It makes me proud,' Ashley Stegall said. 'I enjoy getting to show my son how awesome his dad was. It's special. It's hard. It was hard for a long time, and it still is.'
Jason Stegall died when his son, Landon Stegall, was 10 months old. Ashley Stegall said even though Landon was just a baby, he still looks to his dad as his hero.
'He, still at 16 years old — that's what he wants to do,' Ashley Stegall said. 'He loves to talk about it, and it was super special to see him put on [Jason Stegall's] little beret, his paratrooper beret, and he still to this day will try it on and stuff like that.'
On days like Memorial Day amid all the parades and ceremonies, Ashley Stegall said it means the world to Gold Star families to see others teaching their kids about the sacrifices the U.S. military makes and honoring the lives of fallen heroes.
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